Dough dividing machine



Aug. 28, 1945. l. ELLIOTT DOUGH DIVIDING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f n 7 o 2 5 /0 Z i M o n, 2 C., H Il 7 7 8 .3 6 Q, 4M 0 INVENTOR.

Aug. 28, 1945. l. ELLIOTT DOUGH DIVIDING MACHINE Filed July 26, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l INVENToR. M m

ramadan. 28,1945 i mural)v STATES- 2,383,536 Doven mvmmc MACHINE Irwin Elliott, Croton on Hudson, N. Y., asslgnor Atu Kram-Elliott Company, New York, N. Y., a copartnership composed of Irwin Elliott and Carl E.'

Application July 26, 1944, Serial No. 54.6,639%

' 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel and improved form of divider for dough, cake batter, fruit fl1l` ings and like substances.. the principal object of the invention being to provide a machine which will eiiiciently operate with matters of Widely 5 different consistency such as roll dough, biscuit dough, cake batter and fruit fillings.

Another important object of the invention is to "provide a machine which will act upon the dough or batter with less working or compression than 10 is obtainable in prior kindred apparatus. Yet another object of the invention "is to provide af'dividing and depositing mechanism which will operate with fruit illings for pies without objectionable "rushing 'of whole fruit such as cherries 15 and strawberries'or of fruit pieces such as apple slices.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from the following description and annexed drawings in which: Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, Sheet 1 are vertical sections showing theI `working parts in the different positions which they take during vthe operation.

Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a side elevation, partly sectional of a complete machine. g

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, ,3 and 4 I have showntherein'a' hopper or reservoir I for containing the matter to be divided which I shall hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, refer to as dough.

Bracket 2 which extends across and is secured to oppositesides of the hopper I is provided with a slide bearing 3 at the bottom and a threaded boss 4 at the top. Adjustment screw 5 operates in the threaded boss 4.

.AV tubular plunger 8 reciprocates in bearing 3. A chamber 'I is fastened to the lower end of plunger 6. The function of this chamber is to segregate from the mass of dough' in the hopper that portion which is to be divided from the mass, 40

I will therefore refer to this part as the measuring chamber.

A cross bar 8 is welded to plunger 6, the function of this cross bar is to impart to the plunger a reciprocating motion.

A connecting rod 9 slides inside of plunger 6 and is provided with boss I0 at the top, which boss is welded to cross bar II. Cross bar II im parts to connecting rod 9 a reciprocating motion.

A piston I 2 is fastened to the end of connecting 50 rod 9, this piston is made a close sliding fit in measuring chamber 1. The connecting rod 9 is provided with groove I 3 to permit the entrance and escape of air to and from the measuring chamber above the piston.

icl. mms) A discharge tube Il extends through the bottom of the hopper. The lower end oi' this tube is equipped with fitting I5 which is provided with groove I8 to accommodate cut-ofi` knife I1.

The part'designated I8 represents a ybelt for receiving the dough which is elected fromthe discharge tube.

In operation it will be observed fromy Fig. l that when the measuring chamber l and the piston I2 are in their upward position the bottom of the piston is flush with thel bottom of the measuring chamber and the top of tube 5 is incontact with the. extended boss I non connecting rod S.. The adjustment screw 5 therefore controls the amount of upward travel of both the piston and the measuring chamber.

From the position shown in Fig. 1 the measuring chamber moves downward through the dough until in contact withthe bottom of the hopper as shown in Fig. 2,' thus enclosing and segregating the dough` now contained in the measuring chamber. y

The cut-off knife II now opens and the piston I2 starts downward as shown in Fig. 3 forcing the segregated dough through the discharge tube' Il.

The completed downward stroke is shown in Fig. 4;,the pistonhaving completed its travel and the clit-ofi knife closed, cutting ci! the ejected dough. r

From the position shown in Fig. 4 the measuring chamber and piston move upward simultaneously to the position Vshown lin Fig. l, the amount of this movement and thus the quantity of dough to be segregated being controlled by the adjustment screw 5.

It will-be apparent that the action on the divided dough has been reduced to a minimum with this mechanism. There is no working or mixing action and the compression is only that required t o overcome the friction caused by the movement of the dough through the discharge tube. This is an important feature and one of the main.

objects of the invention.

Referring now to Fig. 5 it will be seen that the parts similar to those in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are designated by similar numerals.

Fig. 5 shows a means of accomplishing the mechanical imovements described above and shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The reciprocating motion of the measuring chamber 1 and piston I2 is produced by means of double acting compressed air cylinders which are timed by cam operated valves. The movements of the cut-off knife are produced by means of a `cam and the motion of the conveyor belt by a 2 2,sss,sss

ratchet wheel and pawl made variable by means of a slotted lever.

It will be seen that the hopper I is supporte(I on standards I9, I2 and 2l, 20, one on each corner of the hopper, the standards are fixed to and supported by side frames 2 I, 2| which are spaced apart by stretches 22, 23, and 24 at the bottom and cross plate 25 at the top, which plate also serves as a support for the conveyor belt Il. Angle brackets 20, 2O and 21, 21 fasten the cross plate 25 to the side frames 2|, 2|.

Air cylinder 28, supported on cross channel 29 imparts a reciprocating motion to measuring chamber 1 through connecting rods 20 and II arranged at each side of the machine. At the bottom these connecting rods are fixed to cross bar 22 which is fastened to the yoke I3 of the cylinder piston rod. At the top the connecting rods 3l and 3| are fastened to cross bar 4.

Air cylinder 34 supported on cross channel Il imparts a reciprocating motion to connecting rod s and piston I2 in the same manner through connecting rods 3i and 31 which are fastened at the bottom to cross bar 38 and at the top to cross bar The cross bar 22 is fixed to yoke i! of the piston rod of cylinder 34.

Valves 4| and 4|, mounted in line on angle 42 are operated by cam levers 43 and 44 which are actuated by cams 45 and 40 mounted on shaft 41.

A conventional arrangement of piping connects between the valves 4l and 4I and the cylinders 28 and 34, also between valves 44 and 4| and the compressed air storage tank 4I.

A double end motor 42 is coupled at one end to air compressor BII and the other end is equipped with a worm and worm wheel speed reducing unit.

On the shaft 5| of the reducing unit a drive sprocket 52 is fastened. This drive sprocket, by means of chain 5l and sprocket I4 revolves shaft 41.

Crank 55 is fixed to the end of shaft 41, which crank, through connecting rod Il operates lever 51. Pawl B8 which engages the teeth of ratchet wheel 59 is mounted on lever 51. The lever l1 is bored a free fit in order to rock on shaft .Il which serves as the fulcrum. Adjustment screw Il, engaging in the threaded slide block 62 controls the angle through which lever l1 moves and thus the amount of movement of conveyor belt Il which is driven by pulley I3 fastened to shaft 40.

Idler pulley I4 is mounted on shaft il. This pulley serves to raise the belt Il in order to clear the piping and mechanism and also to give a greater wrap of the belt around drive pulley The belt I8 is extended at the other end by take-up pulley mounted on shaft l1 which is Jour-neues 1n bearing meer n. an amusement screw il at each side of the machine controls the tension of the belt by the movement of the bearing blocks.

A cross shaft 10 is driven by chain il and sprocket 1|. Cam 12 is mounted on the end of shaft 10 and this cam controls the movements of the cut-0H knife I1. The cam lever 12 which is equipped with roller 14 is fixed to rocker shaft 1I.

' Levers 14, 1C one at each side of the machine are connected across at the top by pin 11, connecting rod-1I connects from the pin 11 to bracket It which is mounted on the cut-ofi' knife I1.

While I have shown the invention as embodied in a specific form, it is understood that various changes in details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dough dividing machine comprising a reservoir for the dough, a measuring chamber immersed in the dough and having an open end, said chamber being mounted with freedom to be advanced into engagement with and to be withdrawn from a wall of'the reservoir, a discharge opening in said wall of the reservoir located to communicate with the interior of the chamber when the latter is in engagement with said wall, a piston movable within the chamber from an inner position remote from the open end thereof toy an outer dough-discharging position in which its outer surface is substantially iiush with such open end of the chamber, and means adapted to Asimultaneously withdraw both the chamber and the piston while maintaining the outer surface of the piston substantially flush with the open end of the chamber.

2. A dough dividing machine comprising a reservoir for the dough, a measuring chamber immersed in the dough and having an open end, said chamber being mounted with freedom to be advanced into engagement with and to be withdrawn from a wall of the reservoir, a discharge opening in said wall of the reservoir located to communicate with the interior of the chamber when the latter is in engagement with said wall. a piston movable within the chamber from an inner position remote from the open end thereof to an outer dough-discharging position. means for moving the chamber to withdraw the same a predetermined distance from its wall-engaging position, and means for simultaneously withdrawing the piston a fixed and substantially equal distance.

IRWIN ELLIOTT. 

